The first thing I discovered about Jackson County’s most accomplished beauty queen is she’s easy to spot in a restaurant for a meeting over coffee.

Tamara Swihart, 72, of Liberty Township, the reigning Ms. Michigan — Senior America, was the only lady at Cracker Barrel wearing a crown and banner.

“I wear them as often as I can get away with it,” Swihart said.

And why not?

Swihart is an 18-year veteran of senior pageants, with five crowns and several high runner-up finishes. She just returned from Atlantic City, where she placed in the top 10 for Ms. Senior America.

“Sometimes people say, ‘Wow, you must have been something when you were younger,’” Swihart said. “Which, I guess, is a backhanded compliment. I tell them I look better now than I ever did.”

She and her husband, Howard, have three children and three grandchildren. Now retired, she worked in the real estate division of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and later worked for Ingham County, taking meeting minutes for the Board of Commissioners.

By her own description, Swihart is a pageant junkie.

Most Americans know nothing about senior beauty pageants, a fact Psychology Today attributed last year to “ageism.”

The Psychology Today article prominently featured Swihart, citing her as an example of “astounding” older women who display grace, charm and joy of life.

Swihart makes no bones about one thing: “I don’t want to look my age,” she said.

A woman of strong religious beliefs, Swihart has volunteered for ministries in prisons and in nursing homes. She also happens to be known for talent performances that are unabashedly sexy.

Her vampy impersonation of Betty Boop was once disallowed at a Branson, Mo., venue where the operators judged Swihart’s costume too skimpy.

“So people kid me that I’ve been censored in Branson,” she said.

Pageant queens stay busy. Swihart represents her Ms. Michigan title at parades, festivals and personal appearances around the state.

She has made many friends on the pageant circuit, and Swihart does her best to encourage other senior women to embrace their “age of elegance.”

“My main thing is to make people smile, no matter who they are,” she said.

Moments later, 4-year-old David Knight of Jackson approached Swihart’s table at the restaurant.